Stay With Me
by xoxSmudgexox
Summary: Yaoi. Jean has been in love with Armin for months now. When Armin's feelings of depression about the deaths of his family return, Jean attempts to comfort him. But comforting goes a little further than he expected. Did Armin share the same feelings for him, or was Jean just chasing something that wasn't there? Jean/Armin, Erwin/Levi, Eren/Armin
1. Chapter 1

**Warning: IF YOU DON'T LIKE YAOI (BOY/BOY) DO NOT READ! YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!**

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**Title: Stay With Me**  
**Disclaimer: I do not own Attack on Titan or any of the characters.  
Rated: T (Language) [Rating will change to M in the future]**  
**Pairings: Jean/Armin, Erwin/Levi, Eren/Armin**

**In this story, the ages are different, but it's still not an AU ;). Jean, Reiner, Jurgen and Bertolt are 22. Annie and Ymir are 24. Eren, Mikasa and Armin are 18. Historia/Krista is 17. Connie and Sasha are 19. Dieter is 23. Erwin is 38, Hange is 27 and Levi is 36. If I missed anyone, I will input their age as they arrive in the story.**

**I hope you guys enjoy! It's been years since I've been on here, and I'm happy to be back!**

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_Chapter 1_

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Snow came down heavily on the living quarters of the Scout Regiment. The sun had disappeared days ago after a snowstorm claimed the area Northeast of Inner Wall Rose where the regiment had built up their new barracks. To everyone's relief, training had been cancelled for a few weeks until the storm cleared up.

Armin Arlert sat in the chair next to the window on his side of the two-man barracks room, staring out at the beautiful white blanket of snow that covered everything. And it continued to pile on. It had been snowing for days and luckily for them, Commander Erwin decided to take this time to let everyone visit their families for a couple weeks before the next mission. That meant no training, which was more than the remaining few that didn't have family to visit could have asked for.

Armin turned to see his roommate, Jean Kirstein, come in through the front door, bringing a gust of cold air and snow with him. "Shit!" He growled in frustration, reaching for the door that had pulled itself out of his grasp. He pushed it back until it clicked into the door frame, locking both the deadbolt and doorknob.

"My bad," he said without looking up at the blonde, stomping his shoes against the rug in front of the door and pulling off his signature green cloak. The whole front of his body was soaked with melted snow, making him shiver slightly.

Brushing a few snow flurries out of his hair, Jean looked up at the quiet boy sitting across the room. "Enjoying the view?" He asked, nodding towards the window Armin was looking out of. He only asked because he had to walk around the building and pass that window to get inside and he had slipped, falling face first into the snow.

The blonde smirked before turning back to the window, confirming that he had been watching the whole time. Jean laughed softly at himself, shrugging off the embarrassment he had felt before he began to shred his soaked clothes. What the hell had he fallen in, a damn puddle? Why was there a puddle in the middle of a freezing snowstorm… He'd have to get changed now before he got sick.

The sound of wet clothes slapping against the wall next to the doorway made Armin glance back again; his face turning a shade of pink at the sight. Jean had already unbuckled the many belt straps that covered the uniform and pulled off his uniform jacket and white shirt, tossing them to the side and showing off his, actually quite masculine, torso. Armin had never realized that Jean was as built as he was. The guy looked lean and thin in his uniform just like they all did. Actually, now that he thought about it, Armin had never really checked the man out like that before.

Of course not, because they were friends. Good friends in fact. After the attack from the female Titan, they had become even closer; even having the option of who they wanted to be roommates with and they chose each other without hesitation. Of course Eren would have been his first choice since they were best friends, but Armin knew Mikasa would want to room with him. And he actually really enjoyed Jean's company, even if the man was an ass sometimes. But Armin had never really thought of his friend like _that_ before. He had always known he liked guys, but Jean had been someone he was close to, kind of like Eren in a way. And staring at him across the room now, shirtless and about to be pant-less made the younger Scout's mind wander a bit.

Jean pulled his ridiculously long boots off and tossed them next to the door, unbuttoning his pants. They had had accountability formation that morning, that was the only reason he had his uniform on in the first place. But instead of coming straight back to his room like Armin did, he decided to eat breakfast with Reiner, Krista and Ymir first. He had missed dinner the night before and he had been starving, though now he felt maybe freezing his ass off in the blizzard wasn't worth the small serving of eggs and sausage.

He pulled off his pants and added them to the pile, before walking in his briefs to the side of his bed, grabbing a pair of boxers from his dresser; all the while, watching Armin watch him from the corner of his eye. He inwardly smirked at this. He'd had a crush on the smaller boy for some time now, though his "assholeishness" helped hide that fact very well. And he had intended on keeping that a secret too, to save himself the shitty feeling of rejection and keep a good friendship. Though Armin's staring was making him think otherwise now.

After donning a pair of black sweatpants and a short sleeved, white button-up shirt, Jean flopped down on his bed, stretching out and yawning loudly. "Great day to be lazy and sleep all day, ya know?" He said, trying to make conversation. He put his right arm behind his head, the other on his chest as he closed his eyes.

"What's wrong with you," Jean chuckled, glancing sideways at the blonde. Armin hadn't said a word since he got back to the room. "You're always talking. What's up, no great words of wisdom today?" Jean was always full of sarcasm, but he took comfort in the fact that Armin always seemed to understand that, and never took it to heart. Sometimes he'd laugh at the older man, smirk or just give a smartass remark back. Jean loved that about him. Anyone who shared his sense of humor and was willing to take a chance to understand him was ok in his book. Armin, Reiner and Marco had been the only ones it seemed.

"Just… Thinking I guess." Armin said, his face still a little red as he continued to stare out the window. They had no training, no expeditions for a few weeks, no Titan worries. He really had nothing to worry about and should be thankful for this time to rest. But thoughts sometimes came back to his Grandfather and his parents. It made him sad and all he wanted to do was mope around; just stare out the window and imagine life back in Shiganshina.

"Come here, brat." Jean called, making the blonde sigh heavily. He was depressed. He didn't want to move… But he stood anyways and walked over to Jean without question, sitting on his bed across from Jean's.

When the taller man, patted the spot on the bed next to him, Armin's face flushed again and Jean gave him a weird look. "What's up with you today? You're acting weirder than usual." Armin scratched the back of his neck nervously, wondering why he was acting odd himself.

Normally on days off when the weather was crappy, the two would lay next to each other and talk for hours. Just talking and laughing. Armin would cuddle up underneath the covers and tell Jean all the stories he'd read about the outside world, or stories his Grandfather would tell him. And Jean would lay on top of the comforter and listen, actually interested in the stories the blonde would tell. It was their thing to say the least, and the main reason why Jean had started falling for him the way he had.

Armin shook his head and moved from his bed to Jean's. He didn't feel like laying down though, there was too much on his mind, including Jean's naked body. That mixed with thoughts of his dead family didn't go well together. It just ended up making Armin frustrated and confused about everything which made him even more depressed that he had no control over his thoughts or how to deal with his feelings.

"Talk to me." Jean said, worry in his eyes as he watched Armin move his legs to sit Indian-style next to him. Armin was normally very vocal about his feelings, so keeping to himself worried Jean. Armin would almost always tell him everything. Even talk to him when he felt like he couldn't talk to anyone else; including Eren and Mikasa.

"Just…" Armin glanced down, sighing again as he rubbed his arm in thought. "My parents, I guess. And my grandpa. I miss them more than usual today, I suppose." He said, avoiding eye contact as he scratched at something on his arm. Whenever he talked about them with someone, direct eye contact would usually make him cry. So instead he'd look away, scratch or pinch at himself to bring his thoughts elsewhere and to keep him from crying.

Jean had noticed his antics though. They'd been together everyday for almost a year now since they'd joined the regiment. It wasn't more than 3 months after joining that they built the new barracks and after living with someone for about 9 months, you start to learn how they are and who they are.

He pulled the blonde down to him gently so that Armin was laying on his chest and almost immediately, Armin burst into tears. He cried easily, he was just more emotional than others. Kind of like a girl, Jean had thought at one point in time. But not this time. He actually felt bad for him and he couldn't tell him he understood what he was going through because Jean still had his family. All he could do was comfort him.

"I'm sorry…" Jean whispered, kissing the boys temple and holding him tighter when he started to shake from his sobs.

_This is actually… Nice. _Armin thought, enjoying the feeling of Jean holding him so securely. He hadn't been held like this since his Grandfather had told him about the loss of his parents. That was almost 6 years ago… Had it really been 6 years since he'd hugged anyone or been hugged himself? An arm over the shoulder from Eren or a side hug from Mikasa wasn't the same.

Armin's cries began to soften and he sniffled a bit, loosening his grip on Jean's shirt where he'd wrinkled it up from holding so tight. This really was amazing, almost like therapy. How did Jean seriously not hate him at this point. Even Mikasa would tell him to stop whining all the time, and Jean was usually the one he'd end up crying around whenever he was upset. Though normally they'd lay on there own separate beds while Jean talked him out of his depression. He'd never actually embraced him before.

"I'm sorry… You must be so annoyed with me most of the time." Armin sighed into Jean's chest, pushing up to lay his head in the crook of the man's neck. He couldn't believe this was the first time he'd ever thought about being this close to Jean. The thought may have passed through his mind once or twice while they were drinking, but it was nothing more than a passing thought and wasn't revisited later. Though he never took to browsing his friends to find someone he'd be attracted to either. Everyone, including him, had their own worries to think about.

"I'm not," Jean said, running his hand across the smaller boy's back as he felt tears falling onto his neck from Armin's cheeks. He wiped away another tear before hooking his finger under the boy's chin, lifting Armin's face to look at him. "You don't annoy me, alright? We all deal with troubles in our life differently… I just... try to understand you. But you don't annoy me." It was true, he really did try to understand what Armin was going through. But Jean still had his mother, and losing comrades was not the same as losing the family that loved you and raised you.

Armin didn't respond. He just stared into Jean's light brown eyes, thinking for a moment as another tear fell. Geez, he really was a baby sometimes. But Jean was trying to comfort him. It was really nice. And warm… And he was so close to Jean's face, it made his heart rate speed up and the color in his cheeks from crying flushed to a darker shade of pink.

Armin felt warm, unsteady breathing mingle with his own as they continued to stare each other down. He'd never kissed anyone before, or even been this close to someone else's face, and the only thing racing through his head at the moment was how badly he wanted to kiss one of his closest friends… What the hell had gotten into him?

Instead of thinking reasonably like he usually did, the blonde threw reason out the window for a moment as he leaned in closer until their lips barely touched. It sent a shock of excitement through them both, causing Jean's hand to clamp down on Armin's waist tightly, as if trying to hold him back.

Taking advantage of someone while they were in an emotional state was just bad karma all around. No matter how much he cared for Armin, this was a bad direction to take things in when the boy wasn't thinking logically. "Armin, wai-"

A banging at the door made them both shoot straight up as if the intruder had already walked in and caught them. Another series of loud knocks had reminded Jean that he'd locked the door, making the brunette sigh in relief. He gave Armin a quick, apologetic glance before jumping up to answer it.

Outside stood a small, slightly shivering Captain Levi who stared up at him impatiently, pushing his way into the room. "Arlert, get dressed. You have an hour before you need to report for guard duty at the Karanese District." He said, glancing sideways at Jean. "What are you doing here, don't you have family to visit?"

Jean shook his head, "I wasn't planning on visiting them.. Sir."

Levi looked back at Arlert for a moment as if in thought, though his emotionless expression didn't really give them much to go on. Nodding a few times, Levi looked back at him, "Very well then, you get dressed too. You're both on duty. Hurry up and get to Karanese. You're working the top of the outer gate."

"Guard duty!? Captain, I thought this was suppose to be our vacation, what the hell?!" Jean knew he was out of line, and even Armin shook his head, giving him a "too much" look. But the regiment had very few breaks between training and expeditions. Any break should be given to everyone, not just those with family. "Why can't Garrison pull that?"

Unlike the other squad leaders, Levi wasn't the type to get bent out of shape when someone was voicing their opinion. The only time he'd really get pissed off was if he gave an order that was never carried out. "I don't make the bullshit orders, I distribute. I already talked to the Commander about it and there's no negotiating. Either pack and get out of here or be at guard duty in an hour. I suggest you decide quickly. The ride to Karanese is 40 minutes."

With that, Levi pulled his green hood over his head and opened the door, stepping out into the blizzard.

Jean slammed the door behind him out of rage. "You've got to be kidding me. Guard duty in the damn snow?! What the hell, this is bullshit!" He yelled angrily, fighting the urge to punch the concrete wall. It wouldn't have ended well on his end. "Forget this, I'm out."

He didn't give Armin another glance, knowing he'd probably give in and stay if he did. After what just happened, he felt that maybe if he stayed they could get even closer like he'd been hoping for these past few months. But if he was going to have to pull guard duty in a blizzard, and probably more than once, he might as well just get the hell out of there and start over when he got back. If there was anything now, it would still be here when he came back from leave.

Arms wrapping tightly around his waist made him freeze in place, stopping him from tossing his clothes into the bag he'd pulled out and thrown onto his bed. "Please don't go…" Armin's voice was a soft whisper and his face was pressed into Jean's back, muffling the words. It was so quiet Jean almost didn't hear him.

He didn't know whether it was this new feeling he felt for the brunette or the fact that he wanted someone to be close to while he found himself once again saddened by the absence of his parents and grandfather. Or maybe having that physical contact after going without for years was what made him stop Jean from packing. Stop him from leaving him alone. Even if Eren and Mikasa hadn't left to stay with Hannes and his family for the two weeks, talking to them wouldn't be the same.

"Please.. Stay with me."

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**=To Be Continued=**

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**Please read&amp;review, thank you for reading! I hope you guys enjoyed it!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Warning: IF YOU DON'T LIKE YAOI (BOY/BOY) DO NOT READ! YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!**

* * *

**Title: Stay With Me**  
**Disclaimer: I do not own Attack on Titan or any of the characters.  
Rated: T** **(Language) [Rating will change to M in the future]**  
**Pairings: Jean/Armin, Erwin/Levi, Eren/Armin**

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_Chapter 2_

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The wind had calmed down on top of the outer gate of East Wall Rose as the end of the day drew closer. The bright white clouds began to darken and the large snowflakes turned to small flurries that fell slowly from their home in the sky, sticking to the surface of the wall.

Armin maneuvered the large push broom across the top of the wall, pushing another thin layer of snow off the side and onto the abandoned village outside of the inner gate below. This wasn't the first time the Scout Regiment had been assigned pointless tasks from the Garrison whenever they had extra time, but the last thing he thought he'd be doing was making sure he kept the top of the wall from piling up with snow. At the same time, they were watching for any deviant Titans below so they could warn those at the lower guard post with flares.

This had to be the most trivial thing he'd been assigned to do since he'd joined the military. A few Titans could be seen wandering around below, but once the sun set, they'd most likely fall asleep or disappear.

Armin turned his attention to the loud shoveling that could be heard across the long stretch of wall to his left. During the trip to the Karanese District, the previous guards had stopped shoveling and cleaning the top of the wall. So, the snow had piled on, leaving Armin to clean the large amounts of snow that had accumulated.

Well… Jean had actually taken the shovel from Armin and handed him the push broom, instructing him to make sure no more snow piled up after he cleared it. Armin had felt bad, and even protested, telling the brunette that he could do it himself but Jean ignored him and started shoveling.

Armin had been pleasantly surprised that Jean had said he'd stay with him over the two weeks that everyone was gone. He'd expected him to say no. Of course, Jean never wanted to do anything he didn't have to do. It wasn't that he was lazy, he just didn't handle pointless bullshit very well. But he also didn't care to visit family, for whatever reason he had behind that, Armin wasn't really sure.

Instead of going off to enjoy peace and quiet away from work, Jean had chosen to stay there with the blonde and suffer the 18-20hr shift in the cold. He wanted to figure out what was going on with Armin, and possibly make a successful attempt to pull him closer like he'd been trying for months. But more than anything, he wanted to know what the hell had happened back in their room.

Jean was half way across the wall now, shoveling off another row off the side before pausing to take a break. He'd been hauling snow for hours now and the work had kept him busy, keeping his blood pumping so he didn't feel the cold. He could feel his fingers going numb and sighed heavily in irritation. He just wanted to finish clearing the wall so he could rest near the fire on the other end.

Two Garrison officers were huddled together, not bothering to help him clear the snow, infuriating the brunette even more. How the hell were they going to just sit there and watch him clear the whole wall while they stayed getting nice a warm!? Damn his low rank, or he would have said something. He was still contemplating it actually.

"J-Jean?" Grumbling in irritation, he turned to Armin who was standing beside him, shaking from the cold. "C-can we go s-s-sit next to the f-fire for a bit?" He rubbed Armin's cold upper arm with his free hand, turning back to the two men on the other side of the wall. After standing still for a few minutes, he realized he was starting to feel the chilling cold seep through the thick jackets and gloves they'd been given.

"Yeah, c'mon," Jean took the broom from Armin and tossed both tools onto the ground, squatting down so he was shorter than the boy. "Get on," He said, rubbing his gloves together to create friction. It had to be below zero.

"W-what? You can't be s-s-serious…"

"Well I am s-s-serious," Jean mocked him out of frustration, shaking his head as he immediately regretted it. Sheesh, he was pissed off of course, but he didn't want to be an ass to the kid. It was his own decision to be there, and he actually wanted to be there with him. "Get on with your stuttering ass, before I freeze to death waiting for you."

Armin frowned and climbed onto Jean's back, wrapping his arms around the brunette's neck as Jean grabbed to hold him under his thighs. At least the older man was still being his same douche-baggy self or this whole situation could have turned out a lot more awkward than it already was. Though he was grateful for the ride, because the snow was piled pretty high. At least five or six inches, coming a little over his ankle.

Armin held on tightly as Jean trudged through the packed snow. He wanted to say something, anything he could think of. They hadn't said anything about the incident back in their room and Armin knew it was bothering Jean. The older man wanted to know what it was about, or he wouldn't have stayed to freeze his ass off in this terrible weather with him.

"You're… upset with me… A-aren't you..?" He whispered, laying his head against the back of Jean's shoulder.

"Why would I be upset with you," Jean smirked turning his head slightly to glance down at the few vagrant Titans that wandered the area. "Cause you got all emotional and tried to kiss me, then asked me to stay in this frozen hell with you so we could suffer together?"

Armin didn't know why, but he found himself laughing at this, which earned him a small chuckle from Jean in return. It really wasn't funny. In fact it was quite miserable and a little sad on Armin's part. But Jean always knew how to lay the truth out there as obvious as it was when others would merely dance around awkward subjects.

"Basically, yeah," Armin said, the smile on his face coming out in his voice.

"Romantic," Jean smiled back. Dealing with awful situations with people you enjoyed being around always made things better. And laughing at their unfortunate situation was all they could do. Unless they wanted to be awkward and depressed the whole time, and that was one thing Jean didn't want to put the boy through. Armin was already stuck on missing his family again, now that most of the regiment had left to visit theirs, being embarrassed and awkward would just make everything that much worse.

The Garrison Officers looked up at the two once they finally made it to their side of the wall. The walk had actually been a lot further than Armin had expected, but Jean wasn't complaining. He came to a squat in front of the warm fire and Armin slid off, pulling his legs into his chest and curling up right where he was dropped off. He was just close enough that the fire warmed his frozen limbs almost immediately.

"Thanks…" He whispered, glancing at the officers that continued to stare at them.

"You boys look cold," one officer commented, snickering at Armin's shaking form across from them. The blonde rubbed his upper arms and looked up at Jean, who had still not sat down yet. His arms were crossed and he was glaring at the men, his mouth in a tight frown with his jaw clenched. What the hell were they laughing at? The fact that Armin was freezing or that they got to watch Jean bust his ass getting rid of all the snow while they sat there nice and happy, watching the show.

For the sake of getting reprimanded and to save Armin the embarrassment, Jean kept his mouth shut. Armin would always get flustered and never knew what to do or how to handle a situation when Jean would lose his cool, especially when he would fight with Eren.

So instead of putting the blonde through that, he moved closer to the fire and took his gloves off, putting his hands closer to warm them. Armin was smiling gratefully at him, pulling his jacket tighter around him while he mimicked Jean's actions to warm his hands, only keeping his gloves on instead. Jean was hot-tempered and while things were already miserable, he was glad Jean wasn't pushing for disrespect to an officer on top of that.

The two men stood and grabbed their large winter overcoats and turned to leave, "Keep the fire running for us boys. We'll be back."

Jean and Armin watched as they left, laughing and chatting about what they were going to eat for dinner the whole way. Armin reached out to gently tap the taller man's boot covered calf, making Jean glance down at him. "Don't be upset please. It's only going to piss you off the more you think about them."

Jean shrugged lightly, squatting down next to the blonde. He set his elbows on his knees and continued to hold up his hands against the heat of the fire, supporting himself comfortably in a squatting position. "I'm not. I'm too damn cold and tired to be fighting about a situation I'm never going to win."

Armin nodded and threw his head back, staring up at the sky and sticking his tongue out to catch the few snowflakes that slowly fell around them. The snow was falling less and less. By the time the sun went down, the snow would probably stop. There was no reason for them to worry that it would pile up like it had the night before. At least for now anyways.

The snowflakes landed on Armin's cheeks and nose, making him laugh and bring his head forward to face the fire again. He felt the heat rising to his cheeks as he realized Jean was watching him. "Oh... Uhm..."

Jean laughed and shook his head, "Don't be embarrassed with me." He took Armin's gloved hands in his and pulled off the thick winter gloves, rubbing the blonde's cold hands with his own and pulling them closer to the flames.

Armin watched as his gloves were removed and the warmth of Jean's hands brought a shy smile to his face. He'd never noticed until now, how the man would show him small affectionate acts before turning away as if it were normal. He would never show that to others though, only to Armin. Like a small pat on the back, a touch on his shoulder, or ruffling his hair playfully. No one seemed to notice, not even the blonde himself. But just that small gesture brought back memories of previous ones, and Armin suddenly put the pieces together.

Jean really did like him. More than a friend. And he had been trying to express his feelings through small acts while still throwing in his sarcastic comments in an attempt to hide how he truly felt for the blonde. But he had been reaching out and covering it up so quickly that Armin hadn't noticed in the past.

Armin rubbed his hands together, looking over at Jean who had turned to admire his work on the wall. "Actually looks pretty good. I got a lot done," he said, standing up and walking to the other side of the fire to grab the chairs the officers had left. He brought them over to their side, setting one on each side of Armin.

"Here, get comfy. I'll be right back," Jean grabbed his gloves and slid them on before running over to the other side of the wall where they had been working the past few hours.

Armin watched him with a confused look before climbing up into one of the chairs, taking off his thick jacket and laying it on his lap. The fire was extremely warm and comfortable, and his shivering had stopped, making him exhale a sigh of relief. He was glad they could finally rest, especially for Jean since he had been working nonstop since they got there.

Armin continued to watch the man run down to the other end of the wall. He could only imagine how difficult it must've been working to clear that amount of snow over the course of four or five hours.

Jean stepped onto the shoveled area he'd finished and bent over to pick up something, Armin couldn't see. He squinted a bit as Jean turned and started to jog back slowly, carrying the shovel and broom on his shoulder. It only took him a few minutes before he was back at the fire where the blonde sat.

"We'll stay on this side. So your wimpy ass won't freeze to death." Jean said with a smirk as he came up to the empty chair next to Armin. He set the broom down and looked over at the portion of the wall that was still covered in snow. He only had half of the wall left to do, and it would probably take him a couple hours or so to finish it, if he pushed himself harder. He decided he might as well get it over with instead of holding off to do it later and getting lazy. Jean was pretty proud of the work he'd already finished on the wall, giving him the motivation to do more.

"I'm gonna start on this side, I'm warmed up enough I think. Just stay here and keep warm." And the brunette set off to finish his work. Armin called to him and stood up, trying to convince him to rest but Jean just held his hand up and waved, setting up to ignore him again so he could focus on working.

Armin sighed heavily in frustration, picking up his jacket that had fallen. There was no negotiating with Jean's stubbornness. If he decided he wanted to do something, that was it, but Armin worried it was a little too cold to be acting stubborn and not resting.

Shaking his head, Armin grabbed the chair next to him and pulled it around so he could prop his feet up, undoing the 3DMD gear from his hips before slouching in his chair. The fire felt so amazing, and Armin figured if Jean wasn't going to rest, he'd rest for both of them. A nap seemed in order since the officers on duty had left and there was no one supervising them.

The clouds became darker and darker as Armin began to drift off to sleep. The wind had settled only for now and the treacherous blizzard that had claimed the eastern part of Wall Rose had skidded to a halt.

* * *

Jean stared at the cloudy sky. It was darker than most nights, quiet and peaceful. The calm before the storm. The wind and snow had stopped and the air had warmed slightly. Jean could feel it in his bones. The next time the weather started up again would be worse than the first storm that had blown through. Hopefully by then they'd already be back in their barracks and some other poor sap could deal with this bullshit guard duty.

It had been a little over an hour since he'd started shoveling again and he still had a lot to go. God this was annoying… He looked over where Armin had made himself a makeshift bed and found himself staring with an awkward smile.

The boy was resting so peacefully, he just wanted to go over there and pick him up and cuddle him like a cute sleeping puppy. Or pull the chair out from under him. He couldn't decide which. His flirting skills needed a little work. They were more like elementary tactics than how an adult should show affection to another. He laughed at how immature his thoughts were, continuing his shoveling.

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Armin stirred awake as a gust of icy cold wind hit his face. The fire had burned lower and the warmth no longer reached to where he was, sending a hard chill through his body. He sat up and pulled his jacket on, looking around for Jean who was a distance away still shoveling.

He stood and stretched his arms and back, zipping up his jacket and sliding on his gloves. He clicked his 3DMD gear to his sides before grabbing the push broom and walking to the edge to start sweeping.

He looked over the side, staring down into the dark, abandoned town below. How long had he been asleep? A couple hours probably. The sun was gone, the fire was down and Jean looked like he was almost finished.

Armin scanned the area below, trying to make out the tall buildings and houses. A flicker of light caught his eye and he squinted to see what it was. It almost looked like there was a light coming from one of the windows. The town had been abandoned for over 5 years, so who could possibly be down there? Or who would want to be down there is what Armin wondered briefly.

Suddenly the light disappeared and Armin heard a loud shriek. The town was so far away, more than 165 feet at least, maybe he was imagining the sound. Armin spun around and called to Jean, who looked up at him curiously. Even with the wind as low as it was, and how quiet the area on top of the wall had been, even Jean couldn't make out what he was saying. Was he going crazy?

Armin waved Jean over before turning back to the edge. The cries below continued and he could make out someone saying "Help me, please, help me" over and over again. It sent shivers down his spine hearing someone begging for help, and to be so far away, Armin didn't know what to do, feeling helpless.

Armin looked over at Jean who had walked up beside him, glancing over the edge."What are you looking at?" He asked.

"Don't you hear that? Someone's screaming for help! Down there in that village."

Jean gave him a look like he had lost his mind. It was so quiet that they could hear a needle dropping where they stood. "Did your brain freeze while you were napping? Or are you just losing it—"

"Look!"

Armin pointed toward the road that led to the gate and they both stared in disbelief as they saw someone dash across the road before ducking into one of the abandoned houses. The screaming had stopped the minute she disappeared and the two looked at each other in shock. How the hell had someone gotten down there in the first place? The gates were locked up tight and there were no holes along the inside of the wall to sneak through. The Garrison Regiment did a thorough check of the walls daily.

"What do we do? We can't just leave her down there!" As if that wasn't shocking enough, they watched as a Titan, maybe 5 or 6 meters come out from behind one of the buildings following after the woman and bang on the house she'd run into.

Jean knew that before they could do anything they needed to let the guards know what was going on. But seeing the Titan chasing the poor girl was all the motivation Armin needed. And as Jean turned to run to where the flares were stashed, Armin jumped off the side of the building without a second thought.

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**=To Be Continued=**

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**Thanks for reading guys! If you enjoyed it, please make a review, I would very much appreciate it! ;)**


	3. Chapter 3

**Warning: IF YOU DON'T LIKE YAOI (BOY/BOY) DO NOT READ! YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!**

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**Title: Stay With Me**  
**Disclaimer: I do not own Attack on Titan or any of the characters.**  
**Rated: T(Language/Violence) [Rating will change to M in the future]**  
**Pairings: Jean/Armin, Erwin/Levi, Eren/Armin**

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_Chapter 3_

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"No!" Jean didn't have enough time to react when Armin dove feet first off the 50m high wall. Without a second thought, Jean spun back around and took off after him, jumping off the side right behind the crazy blonde. He was only grateful that he hadn't taken off his 3DMG gear.

As he neared the bottom of the wall, Armin shot out a hook from his 3DMG, preparing for the hard, jerking stop before retracting the wire and shooting out another. He swung along the side of the wall and gracefully landed on the ground, taking off into a full sprint towards the road with Jean not far behind him.

"Armin, stop!" Jean called angrily as he chased after the small blonde. What the hell had gotten into him?

Armin ignored him as he jumped into the air and shot out a wire, catching the side of a large building and pulling himself up to the rooftop and sprinting across. His sprint was cut short as he was roughly grabbed by the back of his jacket and tossed onto the snow covered rooftop.

"Have you completely lost your shit?!" Jean yelled, snatching him up quickly. He resisted the urge to shake the younger boy. "You seriously just jumped 165ft into Titan infested areas, you don't even know if she's still alive, and you have no idea how many Titans are actually awake down here stomping around. What the hell is wrong with you?!"

"We have to help her, Jean! Let go of me so we can hurry and get to her! I'm not trying to lose anyone while we're on duty," Armin snapped, pulling the front of his jacket out of Jean's grasp. He knew he wasn't an expert at fighting Titans, but he wasn't going to lose someone he knew he could save. They could grab her and make it back to the wall before the officers even got back.

"Please, Jean…"

The brunette looked skeptical, pausing for a moment to think. They were already on the ground, and he was exceptionally proficient in his 3DMG abilities. There was no reason to try and climb back up just to warn the others. By the time they made it back to the other gate guards, she could be dead.

"Fine," Jean said, still somewhat unsure of his decision. It was dangerous to try maneuvering in the dark and even more so when they knew for sure there was at least one Titan awake down there with them. Who knew how many more were up and running. "Stay close to me. The sooner we can get this idiot girl, the sooner we can get the hell out of here."

Armin nodded in agreeance, turning to send out a wire onto the nearby building. They headed towards what appeared to be a 6 meter Titan up close, that was grabbing away at the inside of the house they'd seen the girl run to.

"Get to the house and find out where she is, I'll distract it." Jean motioned for Armin to go the opposite way before he flew head on toward the Titan. He shot another wire into the side of the building the Titan was trying to reach into and landed where he could be seen. The Titan stared for a moment before swinging it's big arm to catch him. Jean jumped to the ground before the Titan could catch him and landed easily, running around the large humanlike creature.

"Alright, go! And hurry the hell up," Jean yelled once he had the Titan's attention. Armin ran right past them and into the building while Jean led the Titan further away.

Once he felt it was a safe distance away from Armin, Jean shot a wire into the building behind him and pulled himself to the rooftop before quickly turning to throw another wire into the Titan's side. He used his body weight to swing down and around the giant, propelling himself into the air above the Titan. Spinning his body around, Jean sent another hook between the Titan's shoulder blades before it had time to turn, unsheathing his blades and pulling himself down with enough force to slice to nape open with ease.

As the giant fell, Jean pulled himself to the top of one of the buildings that overlooked the smaller residential building Armin had run into, tapping his foot impatiently when the blonde didn't emerge. "C'mooooon….." He whispered to himself, gritting his teeth in frustration. Loud booming sounds from behind him caught his attention and he turned to see what the commotion was. "What the hell now…?!"

Shock set in at the sight of not one but three other Titans heading towards him. Jean felt beads of sweat rise on his forehead and his hands became clammy as he stared with wide eyes.

This was not good. No. This was really really really not good. The Titans ranged from 10 to 14 meters tall and they were moving fast. This could not be happening… How this many Titans function after dark?! Not to mention the past few days had been cloudy and stormy, hiding the sun away which he had thought was their main source of energy.

"Armin!" Jean called, turning back to face the building Armin had went inside. There was no answer. And the Titans were coming straight for him now, only a few meters away… Shit, he had to time to waste. He threw out his wires, racing between buildings to lead the group away from Armin. This was insane.

Jean successfully led them a few houses down before he threw out a hook that decided not to connect with the wall. Anxiety rose in his chest as he quickly tried to pull himself together in time to toss another wire out, swinging up to land on the roof of a smaller house. Underneath the snow, the roof shingles were completely frozen, making the surface slippery and Jean lost his footing, sliding down the side and clinging to the loose, unsturdy gutter that broke under his weight, sending him to the ground.

It hadn't been a far fall, but Jean had fallen straight on his back and it was enough to knock the wind out of him, causing him temporary paralysis as he tried to gasp for air. Using every bit of will and strength he had, he forced himself to push his head back and he watched the Titans come closer while he tried to catch his breath.

Oh god. This was it. This was his end wasn't it? There was no way he could recover in time to get away. As his lungs finally allowed air in and his body slightly relaxed, he rolled over slowly onto his stomach as the Titan stepped closer and waited for it to reach down and pick him up. But nothing happened. Instead, the Titan turned and started walking away from him, making Jean look up curiously.

Armin had circled around the 13m Titan, landing on the edge of the building across from the one Jean had fallen from. "Are you alright?!" He called, worry laced in his voice. Seeing the brunette laying there made him feel sick to his stomach. He knew if Jean didn't get up soon, he would either get squished by the giants or one of them would turn their attention back to him.

Jean finally caught his breath and stood weakly, his hands on his knees as he took deep breaths. He watched as Armin swung to another building, avoiding the Titan that kept grabbing at him. Jean tried to get his 3DMG up and running, but falling on his back had caused him to crush the fan section that made the whole device run in the first place. Crap… Now he was on the ground, there were Titans everywhere AND his gear was busted.

Just as he looked up, he saw one of the Titans reach out and grab Armin's wire mid air, pulling down and causing Armin to be flung up and against a building. Trying not to panic, Armin spun around so that his feet would connect with the side of the building and he could push off, cut the wire and toss another one to get away.

But instead of hitting a flat surface, his left leg grazed against a piece of metal that was sticking out of the damaged building, ripping through his long boots and cutting deep enough to cause a gash from his ankle to his knee.

Armin screamed from the intense pain in his leg, reaching down to grab the wound as he was swung back in front of the 13m Titan that was holding him upside down by his wire. In a quick decision between life or limb, he released his bleeding leg and pulled out a blade with lightning speed, cutting himself free. What he wasn't expecting was that cutting his wire meant he'd be falling from 40 feet in the air.

Jean had already picked up speed, running toward both the Titan and Armin as the blonde fell, but he hadn't been close enough. Armin hit the ground hard, rolling a few times before laying limp only a few feet from the massive beast.

If Armin was dead, Jean had no time to check. He made it to Armin's side, picked the boy up and hauled him over his shoulder before running in between the buildings next to them right before the Titan's large hand come crashing down, missing them by inches. They started tearing down the building in an attempt to follow him, but found themselves trapped. And after running in between seven or eight buildings, Jean had finally lost them.

That didn't stop him from running though. He'd never been more terrified in his life. There had been several times where he'd been close to dying. Even the time when both him and Armin almost lost their lives to Annie's Titan form. But for some reason this had scared him the most. Hearing Armin shrieking in pain, seeing him fall from almost four stories high, and the current uncertainty if the boy was even alive scared the shit out of him.

Stopping in front of a brick residential building, Jean stared for only a moment before he decided it might be sturdy enough to hide inside. He didn't have a lot of time to make decisions, so he rushed into the abandoned house and ran across the open family room looking area. Creaking from the flooring made Jean come to a stop and he scanned the ground quickly.

Maybe there was a trap door? Gently, he laid Armin against the dust covered carpet and pressed against the wood flooring again, trying to dig his fingers into the cracks of the floor.

"Yes!" Jean grinned as he found the opening to the basement. Most residential houses had hidden basement doors, even within Wall Sina, so this was no surprise. He was just happy that he had found it as quickly as he did.

Jean crawled over the Armin, the smile fading from his face as he stared down at the motionless blonde. "Armin…" He whispered, crawling closer to him. He reached out his hand hesitantly. If Armin had no pulse, Jean honestly didn't know what he'd do. He was an asshole for a reason… So that he wouldn't get close to anyone. But somehow Armin had found a way to get to him. He prayed this wasn't another Marco incident. He didn't think his heart could take it the second time around.

He brought his hand up and laid two fingers against Armin's neck. And then waited. And waited some more. It seemed like he was waiting forever… But it was there. It was faint, but his heart was beating and Jean released the breath he hadn't realized he was holding. Thank God…

Jean reached underneath Armin and pulled the boy against his chest. The basement stairs were steep and it was going to be extremely difficult to get Armin inside without slipping or missing a step, making them both fall to the bottom. He didn't know how far down it was, but Jean was positive Armin wouldn't be able to handle anymore falls tonight.

Taking it slowly, step-by-step, Jean carried the small boy carefully in his arms to the bottom of the basement cellar. It had taken longer than Jean had wanted but they were both safe. He found a flat surface on the ground to lay Armin down before looking around the small basement for source of light. This was almost impossible considering it was dark outside and everything in the basement was pitch black. The basement door was the only small amount of light he had and it was a very small amount, at that.

This was not going to be easy. His 3DMG was broken and he had no idea what condition Armin's was in after that fall. But there was no way he could attempt a sprint to the gate while carrying Armin's unconscious form, while Titans were in the area, and without the use of their maneuvering gear.

Jean climbed back up the stairs and out of the basement. If they were going to survive, he'd have to scour the place looking for supplies. If he couldn't fix his gear, or at least get Armin's up and running before daytime, they may not have a chance of making it back to the wall alive.

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Armin groaned softly as he tried to force his eyes to open. His head felt fuzzy and his entire body was sore, as if he'd been training for days non stop. What the hell had happened to him? His head felt like it was on fire and his shoulder and leg were killing him. The pain was enough to bring tears to his still closed eyes.

After several attempts, Armin finally brought his eyes open slowly, squinting through tears as he glanced around the dim lit room. The air was cold and humid, making his hands feel sticky when he closed them into a fist to make sure he could still move them.

In the corner of the dark room, a few feet away from him, Armin could see Jean sitting at what looked to be a workbench, tinkering away at something in front of him. There was a small lit candle inside a glass case next to the brunette, providing him a small amount of light while he worked.

Blinking slowly a few times as he tried to gather his bearings, Armin rolled onto his left side to try and prop himself up and get a better look at his surroundings, only to gasp, hissing in pain from rolling onto his wounded leg.

Jean turned when he heard the small blonde's painful cries from the corner, quickly jumping up from the table and abandoning the tools he was working with. He knelt down next to Armin, gently touching the blonde's left shoulder to let the boy know he was there.

"Relax, you're busted up badly," Jean said, glancing down at the gash on Armin's leg. He had removed the ripped boot earlier and attempted to wrap it as secure as he could with his green cloak to stop the bleeding and hold the wound closed. The blood had still seeped through the thin cloth, but only a little, letting Jean know that the bleeding had either slowed or completely stopped.

Armin breathed heavily as he opened his eyes to look up at older Scout next to him, "Where...are we…?" He asked as he tried to control his breathing while Jean laid his on his head to check his temperature. "Jean…? What happened?"

Jean pulled his thick, gray winter jacket off and laid it over Armin's legs to help warm him up since the blonde's jackets was already covering his top. Armin's forehead felt cold and damp, his skin was a pasty, sickly color of white and pale green, and Armin was shivering slightly from the cold air in the basement. "We're stuck in the abandoned village in front of the gate. Our 3DMG is broken so we can't get out of here without being chased down by the Titans outside."

Jean sighed heavily, staring at the blonde with a thoughtful and worried look. Armin was hurt pretty badly. As far as he could tell just by looking, Armin had a deep gash on his left leg, he had a wound on the side of his head, his right shoulder was either broken or fractured from the fall, and he was going into shock from the loss of blood. And that was only the problems on the surface.

"Everything hurts..." Armin whispered, trying to lift his arms to bring them to his head only to realize his hurt shoulder too late. He let out a small yelp from the pain, bringing his good arm over to clutch his shoulder.

"You fell from about three or four stories high... Try not to move too much, I can't tell what else is messed up," Jean brushed a few strands of blonde hair away from Armin's face, "You passed out from the fall after a Titan caught your wire. Can you remember everything well enough?"

Armin rubbed the tears out of his eyes and tried to think. Why were they on the ground in the first place? Weren't they… On guard duty? "I think so… We came down… For a girl?"

Jean nodded. Now that he thought about it, what the hell happened to that idiot they had risked their life for anyways? Why hadn't she been with Armin and where the hell could she have disappeared to? He'd have to wait to ask those questions though, they weren't as important as getting back to work on the gear, making sure Armin didn't overdo it by trying to answer questions, and getting them both out of there.

"Just try to rest for now… I'm going to keep working on the maneuvering devices. If I can get at least one of them working, we should be fine and I can just carry you with me." As Jean stood, Armin reached out and grabbed his wrist weakly, shaking his head.

"You should...make a run for it. To the gate...while it's still dark. There's barely any Titans and… I'll just slow you down," Speaking was incredibly hard considering the massive headache Armin had. Every heart beat was like a punch to the brain, and words felt like a million knives stabbing him in the head with each syllable.

Armin had to convince Jean to get out of there though. Get to the gate when there were fewer Titans since it was still night and get help, then come back to get him. Armin was terrified to death of being left alone defenseless in an area where Titans were wondering, but it was the smartest way for both of them to stay alive…

Jean could only smile. He knew Armin was trying to think logically. And of course him leaving to get help would be the more logical choice, and normally logic and being realistic were his main areas of expertise. But he wasn't leaving. Maybe it was how much he cared for the blonde that he felt the need to stay, fix the gear and get them both out at the same time. Or maybe it was Eren's quoted words from Levi that he'd told Jean one night while they all sat around a bonfire.

_"No matter what kind of wisdom dictates you the option you should pick, no one will be able to tell if it's right or wrong till you arrive to some sort of outcome resulting from your choice. The only thing we are allowed to do is to believe that we won't regret the choice we made."_

Jean didn't know what the outcome would be if he stayed or he left to get help. But he put trust in his own decision.

"I'm not going anywhere. We're going to get out of this together. Didn't I tell you I would stay with you?" Jean gave the boy a soft smile as Armin's fingers slowly unwrapped from around his wrist, allowing him to stand. He watched as Armin sighed heavily and closed his eyes to rest, his blonde eyebrows knit together as he struggled to calm his mind from the pain.

Jean returned to his and Armin's gears on the stone table he had been working on and sat down, taking in a deep breath and exhaling slowly. He had to work fast. He was racing against the clock; racing to beat the sunrise and there was no way to tell how much time Armin had, or if his body might give out all together. But he knew that leaving was a choice he'd regret.

He'd get them both out safely. He made the promise then and there as he diligently tinkered with their maneuvering gear. And he didn't break promises easily.

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**=To Be Continued=**


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